UPDATE: Bears notebook: Olsen shows he catches on quickly

Monday

Sep 24, 2007 at 12:01 AMSep 24, 2007 at 10:54 AM

Bears notes from gameday. With Report Card.

Reed Schreck

Rookie tight end Greg Olsen made not only his first appearance but his first receptions as a Chicago Bear.
With six minutes left in the first quarter Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys, Rex Grossman hit Olsen for a 7-yard gain that helped set up Chicago’s only first half points. His reception came on the 11th snap of a 15-play drive.
Olsen, the team’s first-round pick from Miami, Fla., missed the first two games with a knee injury suffered in the final preseason game.
Olsen also caught a 21-yard pass to the Dallas 1 to set up a scoring run by Cedric Benson on the ensuing play midway through the third quarter.

But his contributions weren’t enough to make much difference Sunday in a 34-10 setback.

“It’s a matter of being consistent and putting it together every series,” he said. “No one is panicking.

“Look how we started the game. We were moving the ball, hitting Bernard (Berrian). You can see the offense has the ability to move the ball and score points.”

Read on Rex
Grossman had a 79.6 QB rating after one quarter, then 33.1 at the half and 52.9 after three quarters. He had three picks, one returned for a score. He had some nice throws – and a key third-down run – on an 86-yard, third-quarter touchdown march. But that was it for saying something nice.
Hester’s Time

Devin Hester returned five kicks for touchdowns in Chicago’s six prime-time games last year. The Cowboys tried to play keep-away right from the start, sending the game’s first kickoff out of bounds.

When he did get his hands on the ball, he fumbled a punt in the first half and two kickoffs in the second half. All were recovered but no big plays resulted.

Injury Report
Linebacker Lance Briggs injured his groin late in the first half and did not play after halftime. Second-year man Jamar Williams took his place.
Defensive end Adewale Ogunleye walked off the field early in the third quarter with a hip injury. His return was announced as questionable.
Corner Nathan Vasher went out for the night with a groin injury late in the third quarter.
Guard Ruben Brown injured an ankle in the fourth quarter and did not return. Tommie Harris hurt a knee in the fourth quarter and also didn’t return.
Sack City
Linebacker Brian Urlacher had two more sacks, giving him three in two games. End Mark Anderson also had one early in the game.
Foes Fall Down
Since Lovie Smith became Chicago’s coach, the team’s opposing quarterbacks had compiled a league-low 69.l passer rating. The Bears had allowed 57 percent completions (second in NFL) and 6.13 yard per pass (lowest in NFL). They also had given up 53 passing touchdowns (fifth fewest in NFL) compared to 67 interceptions (second most in NFL) going into Sunday.
Dallas quarterback Tony Romo entered the evening with a 119.3 QB rating on the season.
He finished the first half with a 57.6 rating before finding a hot hand to start the third quarter, which he ended with a 106.2 mark.
Notes, Numbers
Smith dropped to 30-21, including 17-10 at home, as head coach. … The Bears had won four of their previous five Sunday night games. Overall, they’re now 9-12 on Sundays. Smith was 4-1 on Sundays and 6-1 in regular-season prime-time games going into the contest. … Sunday was Chicago’s first of five prime-time games this season. The next one is Oct. 7 at Green Bay. … The Cowboys lead the overall series 13-8. … A total of 62,099 tickets were distributed, with 2,913 no-shows.
Inactives
Kyle Orton was Chicago’s third QB, with P Dirk Johnson, CB Corey Graham, WR Mike Hass, FB Lousaka Polite, OL Josh Beekman, LB Darrell McClover and DL Antonio Garay out.
Regular punter Brad Maynard was active after missing one game. Rookie tight end Greg Olsen was active for his first pro game.
Out for the Cowboys were Evan Oglesby, Courtney Brown, Oliver Hoyte, Doug Free, James Marten, Terry Glenn, Isaiah Stanback and Greg Ellis.
Reed Schreck is the NFL writer for the Rockford Register Star. Contact him at 815-987-1381 or rschreck@rrstar.com.
REPORT CARD
Rushing offense: C-
No highlights; just enough to keep the Cowboys honest and heat off Rex Grossman. A key second-half fumble by Cedric Benson negated any positives.
Passing offense: D-
A mixed bag would have been appreciated. It was mostly awful for Rex Grossman. He had a good thing going in the first half hitting Bernard Berrian on out routes. He struggled with his other throws until a strong drive that led to a touchdown in the third quarter. But three picks were way too many against a potent offensive team.
Rushing defense: B-
It’s amazing Dallas even tried to run until it assumed a big lead, as Chicago rendered the rushing game nearly useless. The Cowboys didn’t gain a first down rushing until 1:39 remained in the third quarter. The fact it finished with more than 100 yards was misleading.
Passing defense: D+
The only reason the mark is this high is because Dallas only put three points on the board in the first half. The grade was F- for the third quarter.
Special teams: C-
Nothing good, nothing bad. Ordinary, which means a net loss for the Bears considering they have Devin Hester and Dallas doesn’t.
Coaching: C-
Lovie Smith’s game plan kept Chicago in the game for three quarters against a red-hot offensive team.
He also was forced to use a patched-up defensive alignment after a flurry of injuries to key regulars. But a loss is a loss, and Chicago was at home.

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